Ashton (ALRTF)
|songlink = The Scientist}} |songlink = The Pretender}} '' Ashton Houdini is the main protagonist of A Long Road to Fortune. General Information Ashton was born in the fictional Bellforde, California, within a quality hospital to a pair of lawyer parents, who deliberately planned Ashton to be born there and achieve dual citizenship. Soon after his birth, Ashton's parents and the infant relocated back to their hometown of Tecpan de Galeana, the head town of the homonymous municipality. While the careers of both adults took off and the couple found much success in their law firm in Acapulco, both proved to be more concentrated on the job than parenthood. What befell on Ashton at the price of this is neglect, rarely spending time with the young toddler who had a natural knack for learning new things. Although not having many mementos of time with his parents, Ashton is particularly fond of the stars and constellation nighttime display both put up for him in on his bedroom ceiling, a thought that calms even the present-day Ashton. Loneliness was Ashton's companion for the better part of his childhood and the lack of exposure to human contact caused the boy to become sheltered and antisocial in return. As a boy, Ashton would learn to wash his own clothing, prepare his own meals, get himself to school, and practically raise himself, all of which he could do thanks to economic support from his parents, which was never short. To slightly remedy their son's situation, Ashton's parents hired a young teen by the name of Lydia Cabrera, the daughter of some friends of the family, to be Ashton's babysitter for most days out of the week. Ashton would grow close to Lydia, but he would grow even closer to Lydia's little sister Liza, who would go on to be the most important person in Ashton's life. The two children became quick friends and Ashton crafted countless happy nostalgic memories by her side. Much of Ashton's time spent alone consisted of academics and reading, which allowed him to learn many things, one of these particularly being the English language, which Ashton learned to handle fluidly in under a year. Another important being in Ashton's childhood, though came much later than Liza, was Mr. Chet. Mr. Chet took interest in Ashton one particular evening when the latter crossed in front of his house on two occasions-- once bouncing a bright red ball and another injured, with the ball missing from his hands. Mr. Chet deduced the situation and introduced himself and his daughter Anna to the boy. Mr. Chet is quite possibly the closest thing Ashton has had to a real father, as his own biological father was nothing but a rare sight at this point. When Ashton began his pre-adolescent years at the age of 10, the rage and frustration caused by his parental neglect led Ashton to finally erupt one day, releasing this vet up animosity in the form of juvenile delinquency, along with another boy by the name of Valdez, who more or less suffered similar family issues. The duo would go on to rack up quite the reputation despite their age and quickly became amongst the most hated in the municipality of Tecpan de Galeana, among citizens and other criminals alike. While finding solace in these kinds of acts, Ashton eventually had a change of heart due to undisclosed reasons and deliberately let himself get caught as Valdez made his his escape. Ashton, surprisingly, was saved from spending several years in juvenile hall thanks to his parents, who got him only a year sentence, forcing Ashton to endure only a year in the facility. When it was time to return home, he felt he needed to atone. Although his parents were still distant, Ashton had matured significantly following his return. Now 15, he began to atone for his mistakes by committing himself fully to his studies and restoring his previously tarnished relationships, mostly with Liza, whom he grew closer and closer to with each passing day. It is Liza who introduces Ashton to her circle of friends now that he has enrolled in her high school again. Fausto, Mimi, Lucas, and after some delay, Yvette, warm up to Ashton and provide him with something he had yet to experience up until that point-- a circle of friends. Despite this, Ashton was highly hated amongst the town and he was often the subject of physical and emotional abuse from peers, former rivals, and citizens alike, yet Ashton chose to receive the full extent of each blow, believing himself to be deserving of it. The last few months before the apocalypse had been improving significantly for Ashton as his home life was no longer barren thanks to the arrival of his aunt Patricia Leon. The woman was lonely herself and quickly developed a liking to Ashton, caring for him like the son she never had. Now in the care of a mother figure and a circle of close personal friends, Ashton seemed to finally be leaving the past behind. That is, until one afternoon in which Ashton and his friends were spending a calm afternoon together in the town's square, the zocalo. An abrupt fire exchange between the law and the cartel turned the atmosphere anarchic in a split second, with Ashton and his friends caught right in between the fire. Thanks to a quick plan of escape hatched by himself and Yvette, Ashton and co. were making a surefire escape through an alley. Tragically, two of the cartel's men grabbed Ashton before he could escape and proceeded to stab him in the abdomen six times before leaving him to die. While Ashton survived the attack, he was left in a comatose state in its aftermath. Plot Chapter 1 Ashton wakes up from his coma after an undisclosed amount of time. Upon doing so, Ashton's ignorance caused him to think that he was late for school and set out. Upon getting to his usual taxi spot, he noticed a herd and was subsequently attacked by one of the dead. After killing his first infected, Ashton retreated back to his home and came to terms with the situation. He prepared himself to go back out into the new world when he heard snarling noises, the sounds of an infected Patricia, who was chained up in the backyard to avoid attacking Ashton. Ashton was forced to put her down and dug her a grave after this grief-stricken encounter. Soon after that, he set out to the zocalo. Upon reaching the zocalo, Ashton was horrified to see the zocalo overrun and filled with panic, bumped into a car and set off an alarm. Ashton ran back after getting the attention of several infected and as Ashton ran for his life, he was rescued by Mr. Chet, who told him all about the apocalypse. After a few lessons in survival, the duo arrived at the marketplace where Ashton was greeted by a man named Daniel, who was disappointed at Ashton's presence. The same reaction was met with most of the survivors, however, Ashton had been reunited with two of his friends, Liza and Valdez. Liza embraced Ashton and kissed him, much to his surprise. Later that night, Ashton slept in the floor near the lookout window and had a casual conversation with the lookout, Jose Quintero until Liza called him over to chat. Ashton asked Liza about the kiss and Liza recalled their childhood memories together and use them to explain her situation. Liza also told Ashton her parents were murdered by men from the cartel earlier in the apocalypse and that she watched the exact moment of their deaths from hiding. Soon after, Mr. Chet informed Ashton about his impending leave where Ashton asked to accompany him but Mr. Chet denied, saying that the people of the marketplace needed him. Soon after, the infected herd from earlier got into the marketplace. Ashton and Daniel were forced to team up to dispose of the infected that had broken into the northern part of the marketplace. Amongst the chaos, Ashton had a close call with an infected after he saved a young boy named Max Gomes from being mauled. The following day, Ashton assisted Sgt. Mendoza in clearing the soccer field in order to start the expansion out of the marketplace. When Mr. Chet, Daniel, Jaime, and Aguila were kidnapped by Gustavo Texta's faction, the faction subsequently locked Ashton's group inside of the soccer field. After some trouble, the group set a course retreating back to the marketplace. Later that night, Ashton set out after the kidnapped and tracked them down to the Galeana Elementary school, arriving just in time to witness their escape. Deciding to spend the night inside of an old storage room within the school's walls, Ashton found himself held hostage by Yuri and Francisco, but using his intellect and wit, escaped from their grasp uninjured. The following day, Ashton tried to make his way back to the marketplace despite being the target of a manhunt issued by Gustavo. Ashton managed to outwit one of the hunters, Bristol, and escape Yuri's pursuit. Before Ashton could make it back, Yuri finally caught up to him. Shockingly, she opted to not kill him but her plans to escort him to Gustavo fell short when a bloodlusted Liza arrived and shot Yuri, and later held Francisco at gunpoint. Thanks to Ashton's first aid,Yuri managed to survive her inflicted gunshot wound. A week later, Ashton and Valdez were seen returning to the marketplace when Saul Mendrena's men began to infiltrate it. Personality Ashton is shown to be a very intelligent individual with a passive voice. During his childhood, he developed an anti-social attitude due to his parents never being around. Thus he was often depressed and resented everybody including his the rest of his family. Prior to his capture and the end of his delinquent career, Ashton only showed openness to his childhood friend Liza, her sister, and Mr. Chet. He would later open up to his aunt Patricia Leon and eventually found a group of friends, who loved him despite his past and deep flaws. He is also very patient and full of vigor, being able to go nights without sleep and move faster than the others. Ashton is normally quiet and doesn't reveal himself but becomes lighthearted in the company of close friends. His fear is also minimal, evident by his calmness by guns and them being pointed at him. Despite being an avid and experienced fighter, Ashton's combat capabilities are significantly hindered by his previous assault with knifes. This leads Ashton to often use his smarts instead of brawn. He is one of the few characters in the story to entirely avoid the use of profanity. Relations Family * † : Aunt, mother figure * : Uncle Personal life * : Girlfriend, childhood friend * : Mentor, father figure * : Best friend, former partner in crime * †: Close friend Other * : Assailant, would-be killer * : Assailant, would-be killer * : Possible father, alternate future counterpart Killed Victims *Numerous counts of infected *Patricia Leon (Infected) *Sofia Galeana (Infected) *Bristol (Caused) *2 cartel hitmen (Caused) *One cartel man *One hunting party hitman Appearances Trivia *Ashton's theme for Chapter One and Chapter Two is The Scientist by Coldplay. **His theme for Chapter Three and Chapter Four is The Pretender by Foo Fighters. *Being the protagonist, Ashton is the only character to appear in every issue thus far. **Ashton also makes more appearances outside of the story than any other character, being the only character from the story to appear in Among Damned Civils. *A character named Ashton appears in issue 32 of World of Anarchy, who similarly wields a machete. *Ashton's blood type is A-, and is compatible with Sandra's. *SEXY GIF COURTESY OF KP! *Ashton is one of four A Long Road to Fortune characters to appear in Banshee, alongside Patricia, Sandra, and Saul. *Ashton is a contestant in the second season of the UFSW Hunger Games, alongside Liza. He placed 14th. **For more information visit his contestant page. *Ashton and all of his counterparts belong strictly to Purry <3. *Ashton appears as a default racer in the hypothetical racing game, UFSW Kart. **Ashton returns as a playable racer in UFSW Kart 2: Dual Rivals. He is partnered with David Andrews from World of Anarchy, with their moniker being the "dark youths with a lot of baggage". Category:Characters Category:A Long Road to Fortune Category:A Long Road to Fortune Characters Category:Protagonists Category:Team Coldplay Category:Club Perfect Attendance Category:PBR Sharpshoot Stories Category:Hated by their authors Category:Fgts Category:Butt Monkeys Category:Gif Sex by KP Category:The Runes Protagonists Category:The Runes Category:Foo Fighter